Sioux Falls Christian’s Levi Vander Leest earns Class A boys state cross-country title
Sioux Falls Christian's Levi Cander Leest wins the Class A race during the state cross country meet on Saturday at Hart Ranch. (Matt Gade / 605 Sports)
RAPID CITY – Apparently Saturday just wasn’t Sioux Falls Christian senior Levi Vander Leest’s day despite winning the individual Class A boys’ state cross-country title at Hart Ranch.
Yes, Vander Leest came away as a state individual champion as he led the Chargers to their fifth straight team title. But no, he wasn’t particularly happy with the way he ran.
“Everybody has good days and everybody has bad days,” he said. “I felt like today something just wasn’t right. I felt like I was out of breath. I felt the dust and the wind and it kind of bothered me.”
Vander Leest reached back and used his faith to get the job done.
“My dad (head coach Luke Vander Leest) always tells me that when it gets hard, smile and pray. So I did,” he said.
Vander Leest finished in a time of 15 minutes, 50 seconds, nine seconds ahead of teammate Wesley Lyon.
Going into the race Levi said he had a good feeling that he was going to win it.
“I put a lot of work in this summer to win it,” he said. “About a mile in I took it from there and I just hung on. I was just thankful for the strength to get it done.”
It looked like a painful way to win, said Luke Vander Leest of his son’s performance.
“I could tell he was struggling, but you always trust the miles you put in during the summer,” he said. “I tell my kids that the joy of The Lord is their strength. When you rely on him, a lot of things can happen. I was really proud of the way he persevered on a tough day for him.”
Luke Vander Leest was especially pleased that his boys’ team won its fifth straight state title despite half of the squad new to state meet competition.
“You have to step up on the big stage and they did that,” he said. “I’ve been coaching for 13 years. I have had 11 years in-a-row with one of my boys (Derrek and Levi) on the state title team. No more Vander Leests left to coach. It was super special as a coach and as a dad.”
For Levi, he hopes that collegiate running is in his future.
“Where I go is undecided now,” he said. “I know I got a lot more in me. Last year at state I got 11th but I was coming off my torn hamstring, so I really only had a one-month season. We’ll see what happens in the future.”